PHILIPPINES 1944
Third Fleet's first victory over Japanese land-based airpower
During September 1944, Task Force 38 launched a series of huge airstrikes against the Japanese in the Philippines. It was the first time American aircraft carriers had dared to confront a major land-based air force. Seventeen carriers, wielding over 1,000 combat aircraft, made up the most powerful US fleet to date. Over two weeks, TF 38 demonstrated the power and mobility of the Fast Carrier Task Force, claiming nearly 800 Japanese aircraft destroyed, over 100 ships sunk, and significant damage to Japanese facilities.
Including previously unpublished photos, original artwork, maps, and 3D diagrams, this book is the first to focus on the campaign. Renowned Pacific War historian Edward M. Young draws upon after-action reports and other primary sources to give a detailed account of how these strikes impacted the reeling forces of Imperial Japan. Soon overshadowed by the invasion of Leyte and the battle of Leyte Gulf, this was an important stage in the Pacific War, for the relative ease of these raids prompted the invasion of Leyte to be brought forwards by two months.
7.25” X 9.75” X .375”
96 pages
73 B/W Photos
10 color illustrations and maps
Edward M. Young 2024
Illustrated by Jim Laurier
ISBN: PB 9781472860439
OSPREY PUBLISHING
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc provided this item for review.